Last Monday, March 3, the Bureau of Meteorology warned residents of Queensland and New South Wales that Tropical Cyclone Alfred was coming their way. The storm was expected to hit the coast on Thursday or Friday.

Over the weekend, residents of Brisbane, Australia, were bracing for the impact of Tropical Cyclone Alfred. The storm was downgraded to a tropical low, and made landfall on the mainland on Saturday. It was the first storm of its kind in the area in 51 years.

Staff at Winey Cow, a cafe just 50 metres from the Surfers Paradise foreshore, closed during the worst of ex-tropical cyclone Alfred and dealt with ankle deep floodwater and persistent dripping from the ceiling during the closure.

Tropical Cyclone Alfred is expected to cross the southeast Queensland coast late this Thursday as a Category 2 storm. The last tropical cyclone to make landfall in the region was ex-Tropical Cyclone Zoe in 1974, half a century ago.

Homeowners are not required to wait for an insurance assessor before starting clean-up efforts. However, they should retain repairable items where possible and notify insurers before disposing of any significant damaged property. Several insurers have deployed additional resources to manage the surge in claims.